Friday, November 28, 2008

This is one of my mother-in-laws famous recipes. It is famous for a reason. It is SO good. She never actually gave me the recipe, so this is my interpretation. In fact she hasn't made it in a while. The last time I remember her making this is when were on vacation in Santa Fe last Easter. This is also when I observed and took mental notes in order to replicate it.

I got the gist of it, but the measurements were all wrong. The first time, I used chicken breast which was good, but I knew the whole chicken would provide more flavor. The second time I used the whole chicken and it was better, but I added too much water and it was a little too soupy for me. During all this trial and error, the dumplings were being tested as well. I've asked my mother-in-law for the recipe a couple of times, and either she couldn't find it or just forgot about it. The first time I made the dumplings, they were okay I think, but they weren't anything memorable. The second time, I didn't add enough dried basil (according to my husband) and the third time, I added too much shortening as they were almost greasy- way too rich and not fluffy.

This time, I think I've done it. These proportions have proved to be the best combination thus far. In fact, I think I'm done tweaking it, there isn't anything I would change. And the two bowl fulls and a happy tummies are indications of it's goodness. My dog even licked the bowl, but when does she not. You can thank Jenn for this recipe, she asked for it a few weeks ago and it made me get in the kitchen and write the recipe down. Before it was all in my head and pieced together on post-its. Now it's all here-for you. This recipe truly comes from my heart, so I hope you enjoy it!

Nonie's Chicken and Dumplings

Stew:

3 Tbsp. butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 bunch celery, chopped

1 whole chicken fryer (about 4 lbs.)

3 chicken bouillon cubes

6 cups chicken broth or water

salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings:

2 cups flour

4 tsps. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. dried basil (optional)

2 Tbsp. Crisco shortening

3/4 -1 cup buttermilk

In a large pot over high heat, saute onions, celery and bouillon cubes in butter til tender. Add whole chicken fryer to pot and cover with 6 cups water or chicken stock. Cook over medium heat til chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is cooked through, pull out and place on a cutting board. Once cool enough to handle, take off all the meat and shred into bite sided pieces. Add chicken back to pot and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Bring to boil.

While the chicken stew is coming to a boil, make the dumplings: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and dried basil. Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening with a fork or a pastry cutter. Stir dough while adding buttermilk. Start with 3/4 cup and add more til completely moistened and biscuit like but not wet.

Drop by the spoon full onto the boiling stew. Do not stir dumplings. Reduce heat to low and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Allow dumplings to steam for 15 minutes. Once dumplings are cooked through, stir dumplings into the stew and serve. The flour from the dumplings will thicken the stew.

NOTE: You can substitute chicken pieces with the bone in or 4 large chicken breasts instead of the whole chicken. Or you can use leftover turkey (about 4 cups) from Thanksgiving. You can also sub milk for the buttermilk.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Scrape pie filling out of crust and plop into blender. Add enough milk to thin it out to drinkable consistency. Crumble the leftover pie crust onto the top. Add a straw and maybe some whipped cream and slurp it down!

Monday, November 24, 2008

I love making cornbread and chili during the cooler months. The problem is, it doesn't get very cold here until late November. I still make this even when it's warm outside, but it's so much nicer to curl up on the couch with a mug of chili than it is to be sweating and eating chili. Don't you think?

I was surfing the web a few months ago and spotted this recipe. It looked really hearty and filling. And I thought it would be a nice accompaniment to my chili. I generally prefer to bake Jiffy cornbread muffins with a little added sugar for sweetness. I LOVE sweet cornbread and this brand is consistently good and it is so inexpensive (like 40 cents). I've tried different mixes and they don't usually compare to Jiffy. I have also made homemade cornbread and it's not as good either.

This cornbread had a nice texture to it. It was very similar to my favorite brand, but with all the added goodness of cheese, fresh sweet corn, bacon, and green chiles. These were not as spicy as I anticipated though. And I think they needed a little something extra- maybe more salt, more pepper, more garlic, a sharper cheese??? They were very good and did not over shadow the main course. I may make these again and tweak the ingredients. Ooh, sausage crumbles would be good in these!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray 2 12-cup muffin tins or line with muffin liners and set aside.

Add all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the milk, buttermilk oil and eggs. Whisk ingredients together, making sure the egg yolks are broken up and well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir til just combined. Place all of the add-ins into the batter. Stir batter until just combined. Do not overmix or you'll end up with tough muffins.

Pour the cornbread batter into the prepared muffin tins. Fill each muffin tin nearly to the top with batter. The muffins won’t rise too much while baking. Bake on the top rack in the oven for about 20 minutes or until just baked through. Insert a toothpick into the center of one of the muffins, if it comes out clean (without crumbs), they're done.

Allow muffins to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm with butter or at room temp.

NOTE: This cornbread can also be baked in a cast-iron skillet or glass baking dish. Make sure to adjust the cooking time to about 30-35 minutes and test with a toothpick if using one of these alternate baking methods. I made 12 muffins and one pan of cornbread. The muffins baked for 20 minutes and the glass dish of cornbread for 30 minutes.

These weren't as spicy as I expected, perhaps it's because I didn't use the Serrano chiles the recipe suggested. They were still good, but mild. For a spicier version, follow the original recipe. The only things I changed were: I didn't add cilantro (because I don't like it- ick!) and I added a small can of green chopped chiles instead of roasted Serrano chiles.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

My husband LOVES apple pie. I like it, but if I had my choice I'd choose a different fruit or something with chocolate! When we go to lunch at our favorite burger joint, we sometimes get fried pies. He gets apple and I get cherry.

Because I don't love it as much as he does I don't make apple pie. And because his mother doesn't like it, she doesn't make it for him either. So my poor husband has to resort to eating these. They're not half bad, but they don't compare to homemade pie and you don't get that cinnamony-apple aroma that travels throughout your house.

So today, I made apple pie. The recipe I chose came from Food&Wine magazine. I was looking through an article titled 'Perfecting Apple Pie' and it had one basic recipe plus 3 different variations. I opted for the Dutch apple version, because I like the crunchy, nutty topping and because I only had one pie crust in the freezer leftover from when I made this pie.

6 large apples—peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks or thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375°. Set a baking sheet on the bottom rack. In a bowl, toss the apples, lemon juice, sugar, 1/4 cup of the flour and the cinnamon.

On a floured surface, roll a disk of the dough to a 13-inch round; fit it into a deep 10-inch glass pie plate and brush the overhang with water. Crimp the overhang. Spoon in the apples.

In a bowl, whisk the remaining 1 cup of flour, the light brown sugar, the baking soda and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add the 6 tablespoons of softened butter and rub the mixture until sandy. Add the chopped walnuts. Press the mixture into clumps and sprinkle over the pie.

Bake the pie in the center of the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the crust is golden. Cover the edge of the pie if it begins to darken. Let the pie cool for at least 4 hours before serving.

NOTE: This pie smelled fantastic and it was impressive looking. The magazine suggests using a mix of Granny Smith, Pink Lady and Golden Delicious apples. I used 2 large Honey Crisp, 2 Red Delicious and 3 Granny Smith apples. I used 7 apples instead of the 6 the recipe called for because my Red Delicious apples were a little on the small side.

I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the crumb topping.

After cooling the minimum 4 hours, we cut into this pie. It was a tad watery for my liking. I thought maybe I didn't add enough flour or I left out an ingredient, but I re-read the recipe twice and from the looks of the pie on their website, this is how it is supposed to be. In the future, I might add a little cornstarch or more flour for a thicker filling.

Friday, November 21, 2008

My husband's cousins' mother or my mother-in-laws cousins' wife used to make this every year. Got that? Let's just call her a very sweet lady named Marie.

Well, Marie made a pumpkin roll every holiday, anniversary, birthday, family reunion or social gathering. Thanksgiving was no exception. In fact, she made dozens of them around this time of year for every single member of the family. Only she called hers pumpkin logs. She'd make several at a time a couple weeks in advance and she'd freeze them. When her kids came over or a neighbor stopped by she'd pull one or two out of the freezer and send them home with her creations.

Marie passed away early this year from cancer. She no longer makes pumpkin logs for her family, but I will. I cannot promise to make them as good or nearly as many, but whenever I do, I'll be sure to think of her. She brought many years of happiness to everyone who knew her and hopefully you will too when you make this for your family.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl and set aside. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin then stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts (optional).

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Carefully peel off paper and roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack til completely cool.

FOR FILLING: Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Unroll cooled cake, being extra careful not to break it. (It will curl slightly from being rolled up and may be a little sticky.) Spread cream cheese mixture over cake and roll it back up. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

NOTE: Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick. Because of the heat from the freshly baked cake, the sugar will melt some. As it cools it may become sticky and that's okay, just make sure you use enough so it doesn't stick.

Don't use a terry cloth towel, it will stick and your cake will be dimply from the cotton threads. Use a thin cotton kitchen towel slightly larger than the cake itself.

I doubled this recipe and made one with nuts and the other without. My family and I preferred the one without nuts. It seemed smoother and creamier and the nuts just got in the way.

Also be sure you buy the pure canned pumpkin, NOT the pumpkin pie mix. There is a difference, so pay close attention when you go to the store (or when you send your husband to get the items off your grocery list).

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I love carrot cake. It's a secret passion of mine. Really, it is. I love it! So when I came across this recipe, I had to make it. It does not taste like carrot cake, however- sorry to disappoint. But it is very good. It has all the same elements that are in a carrot cake minus the cream cheese frosting, but I can fix that. Add adollopoffrosting to the top and there you have a very sinful breakfast.

Regardless of what you put in or on this oatmeal, it is healthy and filling. Oatmeal is heart healthy, carrots are full of Vitamin A and Beta Carotene which are good for your eyes and skin (I think) And brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon are just plain good. Honestly do I have to twist your arm to try this? I just look at it and I start drooling!

Combine the oats, milk, water, carrots, raisins, brown sugar and salt in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat and stir occasionally until mixture comes almost to a boil and most of the liquid is absorbed, which takes about 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast chopped pecans and coconut in a 350 degree oven until slightly golden. When oats are done, stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Pour oats into a bowl and add top with pecans and coconut.

NOTE: Don't get impatient and put the oven on broil because the coconut isn't browning fast enough because it'll burn faster than you know resulting in blackened, unrecognizable, inedible shards and you'll have to scrap it and start all over again. And, no, I do not speak from experience :-) Or you can skip this step all together and use untoasted nuts and coconut. But if you choose to toast them, your house will smell so good!

The original recipe calls for a drizzle of maple syrup over the top, but I decided to swirl in brown sugar, because I LOVE brown sugar and oatmeal. It's a match made in heaven. And I added in raisins because every carrot cake I've ever had, had raisins in it. But leave them out if you don't like them.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

One of my favorite things to eat and smell is rice pudding. I.LOVE.IT! So much that, I even bought half a dozen candles from Yankee Candle called "Rice Milk". It smells sweet and vanilla-y and yummy!

My grandmother used to make rice pudding with cinnamon water (water with cinnamon sticks simmering in it) and milk, and long grain white rice. It was never as rich as this one, but it wasn't as creamy either. Her version reminds me of my childhood. It was always simple and fuss free- nothing extravagant, but consistently good.

When I was older, I saw rice pudding in the grocery store- Kozy Shack. It was good too, but different. It was creamy and sweet, and had a nice hint of vanilla instead of the cinnamon. I loved it too. My only problem with this was that the rice almost seemed dessicated. It wasn't whole and plump and creamy. So I turned to this recipe to make my own.

In a large saucepan, place all the ingredients, except the almond extract and raspberries. Bring it to a gentle boil and then turn it down to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom, for about 30 to 40 minutes. Taste the rice to check for oneness. The rice should be very soft and plump.

Take the pudding off the heat and stir in the extract. Pour into dessert bowls and stir in some fresh raspberries. Serve hot, warm, room temp or cold.

NOTE: *I don't have a vanilla bean on hand, so I added a teaspoon full of vanilla extract at the end when the pudding was done cooking. If you add the extract to the milk before it's cooked, the extract will cook away and won't be as flavorful- resulting in a waste of extracts.

If I am missing my grandmother, I'll add a cinnamon stick to the simmering milk. That's the way she used to make it and the cinnamon vanilla milk smell always reminds me of her.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thanks for all the recipe suggestions what were sent my way. You guys are the best. I really wanted to incorporate buttermilk since I have some in the fridge that's going to expire soon. So I settled on a vanilla buttermilk cake with a fudge filling and a buttercream frosting.

I was told no chocolate from the boys mother, but I found out she said that because she doesn't like chocolate much (wha!?!). But the father and birthday boy are chocolate lovers, so that's the reason for the fudge filling.

I'll be making and freezing the cake this weekend as well as making the chocolate decorations. I'll post pics along the way.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I have been asked to make a birthday cake for a 2 year old boy. The birthday is next week (Wednesday the 19th).

I have figured out how to decorate the cake (a sea theme) and I know it will be frosted in buttercream. I have purchased all my supplies from my favorite bake shop, but I need a good cake recipe.

The family said I could make whatever I wanted as long as it wasn't chocolate. The boy can't have peanut butter or honey, but all else is fair game. I was thinking either a white or yellow cake or a version of it, but I want it to be good and moist. I don't want it to taste like a mix or a grocery store cake. I want them to think it's a beautiful cake, but I want them to remember what it tastes like.

Got any suggestions? Please only suggest recipes you have tried or made yourself. I can look online or in a cookbook all day long, but I want your taste bud opinion :-) Or if you haven't made one, please suggest a recipe that has been taste tested.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I don't subscribe to Everyday Food, but I do love it. I love how fuss free the recipes are and the photos that accompany them. Instead I get suckered in at the cash register into buying them. I especially love the holiday issues filled with turkey, stuffing, cranberry, sweet potatoes, pies, and cookies. Oh, and the holiday cookie issue just has me salivating!

I flip through the pages and I honestly want to make every recipe. I DVR Everyday Food and Everyday Baking on Saturday mornings but I don't particularly like the hosts though because they don't have any personality and are clearly reading from teleprompters. But, the food always looks good and that has to count for something, right?

Then I got the Everyday Food cookbook. That allowed me to look at it at my own leisure (without the hosts) and without the clutter of all the little magazines. Most of those recipes that are in the smaller issues are also in this book, and they're divided by season. Genius. This recipe is adapted from the Blueberry Crumb Cake. This cake is very good with blueberries, but I decided since it is fall, that I'd try it with apples. Though, pears or blackberries would be good in this too.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make crumb topping: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender until large, moist crumbs form. Chill until ready to use.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until just combined. (Batter will be very stiff.) Fold chopped apples into the batter and spoon into prepared pan.

NOTE: Granny Smith are good baking apples, because they hold up without getting mushy, but this cake only bakes for 45 minutes, so they'll maintain their texture. I used Red Delicious apples, because I had an entire bag of them, but use your favorite type.

Monday, November 3, 2008

We travelled a lot when I was a child. We didn't take family vacations, but instead moved from Texas to Virginia, twice by car. Just the four of us, my mom, my brother and my sister in an '80's model Oldsmobile Cutlass- white with burgandy cloth interior with a trailer hitch. Trailing behind was a U-Haul trailer.

It's a long drive to Northern Virginia from the Texas Panhandle and we (I say we, but my mom is the only one who drove) would do it in about 24 hours. We didn't stop much except to eat or pull over so my mom could buy no-dose and a cup of jo.

When we did stop it was usually at Cracker Barrel because they were in every state we drove through- Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee- and they were open for 24 hours. We usually ordered breakfast no matter what time of day it was and we played that little triangle/golf tee game they left on the tables. When we were done, we were allowed to browse through their gift shop (which I still love today) and we could get one thing. We either got those 10 cent multi colored spiral candy sticks or rock candy and we'd trade in the car.

I still love Cracker Barrel and all it's coziness, but sadly my husband is not a fan. He grew up on Luby's Home Cookin' and he always gets the same thing- fried fish, mac and cheese and fried okra. When he craves home cookin' that's where we go. Every once in a while I can talk him into going to Cracker Barrel, but it's not often.

I knew if I wanted to try this Coca-Cola cake at the restaurant, I'd have to wait a while. So I searched the net and found this recipe. My husband loves coke, as we call it here in the south, so I knew he would enjoy this cake. It tastes very much like the Texas Fudge Sheetcake, I make for him every birthday, except it has marshmallows and not nuts. It was a little gooey-er from the frosting that melted into the marshmallow topped cake, but it was really good. It had a mild chocolate taste and was very tender and moist, but I couldn't really taste the coke in the cake or the frosting. My husband had 2 servings in one night (and every night there after til it was all gone), not bad for a man who's not a fan of Cracker Barrel. Hopefully I've changed his mind.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Heat butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola® to boil and pour over the flour mixture. Mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract and marshmallows and blend. The batter will be thin with marshmallows floating on top.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

3 tablespoons cocoa

6 tablespoons Coca-Cola®

1 box confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Boil first three ingredients. Remove from the heat and blend in the sugar and vanilla extract. Spread on warm cake.

NOTE: I added half a teaspoon of cinnamon to the frosting to bring out the chocolatey-ness. Yum!

Autumn's 4th birthday was in September. I made her some stinky dog treats and she loved them! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

I made her cheesy bacon doggie treats last year when she turned 3, so this year I wanted to make something a little different. Not that she cares...I'm sure she'd eat the the same bacon and cheese bones everyday and not ever complain, but I like for her to have a diverse palette- ha!

I have a doggie treat book I found on clearance a couple years ago. A lot of the recipes have funky stuff in them like- desiccated bone meal, raw chicken and pork livers, kelp powder, processed cheese spread, and many more odd things that I do not keep in my house nor would I buy just to make dog treats. So I found a recipe for carrot and cheese dog treats and subbed the ground beef for canned tuna. They were so stinky but of course it smelled great to her!

1/2 lb. lean ground beef, cooked and finely minced (or one small can of tuna in water-do not drain)

1 large carrot, peeled and finely grated

1/2 tsp. garlic powder*

2 large eggs

1/2 c. beef or chicken broth (if you use tuna, you don't need the broth)

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or use parchment paper to line 2 baking sheets. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine both flours, cheese, cooked beef or tuna, carrots and garlic powder.

3. In a small bowl, using a wire whisk or electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs until foamy before beating in the broth.

4. Using a large spoon, a spatula or your hands, combine the two mixes, blending until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a soft dough. If the mixture seems a little dry add a little more broth a tablespoon at a time. If it is too wet add a little more flour.

5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured flat surface, and using a rolling pin, roll out to 1/4-inch thick. Use a 1 1/2- inch round cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can, reworking the scraps as you go. The dough will become stiff as it is reworked.

6. Place the cookies side by side on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cookies appear very dry and the edges are lightly golden. Remove the trays from the oven and cool to room temperature. Turn off the oven.

7. When the cookies have cooled completely, put all the cookies on one cookie sheet and return them to the cooling oven. Leave them undisturbed (read: do not open the oven during this time) for 8-16 hours.

NOTE: I used the full amount (3 cups) of all-purpose flour. And I substituted the ground beef for a can of tuna in water. If you use the tuna, do not drain it. It is enough liquid that you don't need to add the broth.

These are fairly easy to make, you just have to make sure you allot the time to make them. I made them in the evening and left them in the oven (per the directions) over night. You really must not skip this step because the cookies need to dry out. Leaving them in the dry warm oven depletes their moisture so you can keep them longer at room temp. Doing this will also make them really hard, so don't be alarmed if they feel like hockey pucks. If they still have moisture in them, they will spoil- you don't want that and neither do your dogs.

Also, I used a 3x1 inch (bone shaped) cookie cutter and they baked for 45 minutes before they turned golden. This recipe made about 36 3-inch cookies. Depending on how thick you roll the dough and the size of the cutter, your results may vary. I then used a smaller 1-inch pumpkin shaped cookie cutter for the scraps.

*Some dogs may be allergic to garlic, so leave this out if it's a concern.

I promise your pooch will LOVE these! They're so much better for them than the store bought chemical laden variety and they're cheaper- win win!

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Welcome To My Blog

My name is Monica and I'm a stay at home mom living in central Texas. I like to cook, but baking is my passion. I am an (obsessive) collector of cake stands, cookbooks and bakeware. I make lots of yummy treats and often share my sweet creations with friends, family and anyone else who is willing to be my guinea pig. I have lots of recipes in the archives so I hope you'll stick around for awhile!

All photos are mine unless otherwise noted. Feel free to Pin whatever photos you'd like on Pinterest, but please ask prior to using them on other blogs or websites.

If you have a question or comment, please feel free to Email Me. I'd love to hear from you!